Thanks Jim , You know that I always take the initiative for design and with helping the USBA.
Billiards and design mean a lot to me , and I believe that with no IMAGE , billiards won't go too far.....(kozoom is a good example)

Please let me know the names missing from the list!

Steven,

With all due respect , 4 people on the board are ACTIVE and the rest are watching the show and trying to judge situations and issues that happened 30 years ago!

Well it's 2012 and life is too short,

Please wait for the latest version ( high resolution ) , I'll email it to you .

If anybody needs a Digital copy of the poster (anywhere on earth), PM me and I'll respond the next day..asap...
And please if you would like to make a donation to the USBA , $1, $5, or $10 that will be great . If you can't afford it , I 'll shoot you an email with the high resolution file for FREE.

Fox nice design layout.
I hope all will approve it!
Since Jim S. and yourself will be competing. Maybe Steve Andersen [Zensteve] or another person will step up and do a Daily Update post/thread of the Tournament on AZ. Since I will be alway from the computer during those Dates.
Good luck this year

I have all the current names on the Nationals page of the website. But I still have to wait until this weekend is over for the Edgie's Qualifier for the list to be 100% complete (unless somebody cancels).

Gilbert; Very good question, I'll give you my opinion, and why!
As usual, they will have the usual suspects in the Finals, most of the top 10 players in the country will be at the finish line once more, with maybe a couple of exceptions, like yourself!

IMHO, these are the reasons why, obviously, Pedro, Hugo, Jae Cho, Miguel, Mazin etc. are definitely the best our country has to offer right now, and seeding 1 top player in each flight doesn't hurt their chances. Also, having a field of 52-56 players, with 80% of players being B and C players gives the top players more time to get in stroke by playing more games beating up on the lesser players before the finals, it's just simple math! Also, the lesser players knock each other out of the top 2 or 3 spots for the finals by beating each other. With the 3 or 4 players in the field that are close to 900 players, it's possible to see some upsets!

The top players in the country stay in stroke at a higher level of play with better players coming to USA to compete in 4 or 5 tourneys a year; Most of the top players are at their peak every tournament they play!

Years ago, the Nationals were played with, at the most, the TOP 12 players in the country that were Winners of the regions they represented. The Nationals were played round robin format, all 12 players play against each, so this way all the games are tough for all the players, as in The Champion of Champion’s, the BEST player truly, is the WINNER!

IMHO, the player ranking system we have adopted in this country is a farce, other than for the top 3 or 4 players on the list it’s not about how the players competed, it’s about economics, who can afford to go to most of the tourneys and buy their way into the Finals to get more points for the rankings. What happened to the REAL meaning of competing? I guess it all boils down again in this wonderful sport,we need more “Supporters, Sponsors, and Media!

Remember all, this is just my opinion!

Bill Smith “Mr3Cushion”

P.S. I have a question of my own, The Nationals has the largest field of any USBA semi-open tournament, why isn't there a Lottery and Auction?, just askin!

Although I do agree with much of what you say, I don't necessarily agree with everything.

A Nationals with just 12 players would have a lot less spectators. Myself included.

Having 50+ players assures a nice amount of spectators: the players themselves along with anyone else they bring along with them.

I am not, however, against the idea of having a "B" Championship event where the top 10 or 12 finishers earn their way to the Nationals to face the best players in the country. This is a Paul Frankel (Professor-Q-Ball) idea.

Rankings: Let me say this one more time because I get tired of saying it. Rankings are different from Ratings. If you were to rate the best players in the country, you would make a list of everyone and then that list would rarely, if ever, change. That's nice, but it's boring.

Rankings are based on ranking points that players collect from both participation and performance. If a player doesn't support the tournaments by showing up, then he won't receive a high ranking. Period. The UMB runs their ranking system in almost the exact same way. The top ranked players in the world are great players - no doubt. But they only get high in the rankings if they participate in the events and also perform. Without either of them, you won't see their names on the ranking list.

Lotteries and auctions are controversial - I agree. I personally would like to do away with them. But they do help us a lot to raise more prize money for the events and the players. That's the main benefit. Our top players don't really make much money in a year from tournament prize money. Pedro probably makes the most, but he couldn't make a living at it. Anything we can do to help our top players make money is fine with me.